Highlights
Report
Geraint Thomas launched an audacious late attack to catch a reduced peloton off-guard to win stage five of the Critérium du Dauphiné.
With just over a kilometre remaining, Thomas attacked out of a tight right turn, stealing a march on the chasing pack in a technical finish, leaving the chasing pack scrambling to close the gap.
Sonny Colbrelli was the only rider close to catching him, with Thomas edging the onrushing Bahrain Victorious man on the line to secure his first stage win of the season to move up into the top 10 overall.
Thomas rounded off what had been a strong team performance with the win, after the Grenadiers had come to the fore on the final category climb, brining the break to heel and setting a pace to deter many counter-attacks.
The team then led the peloton around a twisty final run-in and as the sprinters’ teams slowing for a tight hairpin, Thomas launched the decisive move and held on for a memorable victory.
Results
Stage
| 1 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | 4:02:15 |
| 2 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious | |
| 3 | Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech | |
| 4 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Team Qhubeka Assos |
General Classification
| 1 | Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 16:59:22 |
| 2 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech | 0:00:01 |
| 3 | Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:00:06 |
| 4 | Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech | 0:00:09 |
| 5 | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:13 |
| 6 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:00:14 |
| 7 | Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Team DSM | |
| 8 | Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:00:16 |
| 9 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:32 |
| 10 | Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën Team | 0:00:34 |
Points
| 1 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious | 91 |
| 2 | Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 58 |
| 3 | Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech | 58 |
Mountains
| 1 | Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal | 13 |
| 2 | Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 12 |
| 3 | Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 10 |
Young Riders
| 1 | Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Team DSM | 16:59:36 |
| 2 | Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team | 0:00:24 |
| 3 | Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:35 |